Tuesday, January 29, 2013

A couple weeks ago, Josh took me back to 'our' honeymoon cabin at a nearby Bed and Breakfast to celebrate our fifth wedding anniversary (which was back in October, but things were a bit busy then!). My mother-in-law watched our two oldest, and our youngest got to tag along with us. Very little of the cabin had changed, and it still looks like the picture I took five years ago (above), only this time it was snowy outside and of course, nothing was growing. We went out for lunch and supper, and breakfast was delivered in the morning. Our time together there was so relaxing and rejuvenating! And it was extra special going back to where we spent the first couple days of our married life. :)

Well, we survived the sub-zero temperatures we saw last week! Some days were bitterly cold. Especially when there was wind. And the water pipes survived, too, though they did freeze numerous times. My hair-dryer came in handy for thawing them out again.

We are definitely back in Minnesota! I recently overheard a few older ladies in a quilt shop discussing the weather (it was a blustery cold day), and their conversation went something like this:

Quilt Shop Worker- You were brave to come out in weather like this!
Lady Shopper- Well, this kind of weather just begs for us to go out in it, you know, to see if we can master it!
Other Lady Shopper- Yeah, we are hardy Minnesotans!

I chuckled and quietly commented to Josh, You never would have heard that in North Carolina! There it takes just a few flurries for the stores to be cleared out of milk and bread and for schools to be closed in anticipation of a 'blizzard'! Gotta love those cultural differences. :)

We are back to nice winter temps this week...as I'm typing it is 23 degrees. And last night we got around 10 inches of fluffy snow. It is so beautiful. The two oldest boys were playing outside this morning and using dustpans to shovel snow! I wish I would have thought to snap a picture of them.

Monday, January 21, 2013

Matthew 5:48 states, Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Does that seem like a tall order? Does God require the Christian to reach sinless perfection in his or her earthly life?

No, God knows we will not reach that state until we have our glorified bodies. 1 John 1:8 reads, If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Why then does God tell us to be perfect? Sometimes I have thought, "If I can never reach perfection, why even try? Why does God ask me to be what is impossible?" I love it when I have had a question in the back of my mind and then in church God uses something our pastor says to give me just the answer I need.

Reaching perfection is not the point. Striving for perfection is what God requires of us. He knows when one strives for perfection, excellence is produced.

This was such an eye-opener and encouragement to me!

Olympian athletes are not perfect, but they have reached a very high level of excellence in their sport because they earnestly, diligently strive for perfection. 1 Corinthians 9:25 says, And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

Philippians 3:14 reads, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:13 states, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

We can be excellent Christians. God has given us the strength to do as He bids. As we yield ourselves to Him, we become more and more like Him--the Perfect One.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

It is a brand new year for new beginnings! My goals for this year are listed below. Some of them are also "our" goals (both mine and Josh's). I am including what I came up with for my
mission statement and theme for the year, along with some encouragement for me in attaining these goals. There are so many areas of my life where I must be a better steward/caretaker of all God has given me.

This is my first time really writing down my goals for a year, and I know I did a no-no for newbie goal-setting in
creating such a long list of things to tackle. But for now I am going
to leave it that way. As Zig Ziglar once said, "If you aim for nothing,
you will hit it every time." :) I am sure I will be
tweaking, changing, adding and/or removing goals as is best throughout the year. I plan to post a monthly check-in for accountability.

Theme

Flourish in Faithfulness

Mission Statement

I desire to glorify God by being a wise steward of all He has entrusted to me.

Encouragement

1 Corinthians 4:2

Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found
faithful.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 14:40Let all things be done decently and in order.

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Proverbs 28:20a

A faithful man shall abound with blessings:

Personal
Goals

Read through the Bible in a year (using the plan you can download here)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

My sincere apologies to whoever sent a card to the address for the Walter Reed Army Medical Center I posted last month. It turned out the address was incorrect, as the cards I sent were returned to me. :( I am guessing yours has been/will be returned as well. I should have made sure the address was right before I copied it from the source I did. I'm so sorry. Here is the correct address if anyone is interested.

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About Me

I am married to the perfect man for me, Josh, and I am a stay-at-home mommy to our three little boys, ages 5 and under. I enjoy family, organizing, homemaking, good deals and things vintage and domestic. I am a sinner saved by the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and I desire to live for Him.